In this episode, Dr Tanusha is joined by Dr Mei-Ching Freeman and Dr Brent Simkus, hospital clinicians from West Moreton Health, to unpack the growing range of hospital, virtual, and community-based services available to support GPs in the region.
They cover how to navigate local care pathways, reduce unnecessary emergency department presentations, and support vulnerable patients, particularly older adults, people in residential aged care, and patients with mental health needs.
Resources
Darling Downs and West Moreton PHN: Find the right care
West Moreton Health: Important numbers for GPs in the West Moreton region
West Moreton Health: West Moreton GP contacts for mental health services
healthdirect: Symptom Checker
Ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Dr Tanusha speaks with Peter Tully and Grandall Manning – Partners at DCA Mentoring Supports.
The DCA Mentoring Supports team have the lived experience of being both NDIS participants, and nominees.
They discuss the challenges GPs often face when completing NDIS Access Request Forms and why focusing on functional impact is essential. They also highlight practical ways clinicians can improve communication and support patients throughout the NDIS access journey.
Resources
In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia (PANDA) CEO Julie Borninkhof.
They discuss PANDA’s role in supporting perinatal mental health, how GPs can identify and manage perinatal anxiety and depression, referral pathways and secondary consultation options, engaging dads and partners in care, and recognising high-risk groups.
Resources
PANDA: National Perinatal Mental Health Helpline - 1300 726 306
In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Nephrologist and Obstetric Physician at West Moreton Health and Mater Mothers' Hospital, Dr Vishwas Raghunath.
They discuss how to monitor, investigate, and support women after high-risk pregnancies – including those complicated by preeclampsia, gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes – to ensure early detection and prevention of future disease.
Resources
International Federation of Gynecology & Obstetrics (FIGO): FIGO pregnancy passport
Society of Obstetric Medicine Australia & New Zealand (SOMANZ): SOMANZ Hypertension in Pregnancy Guideline 2023
In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Dr Jill Parkes-Smith, an Obstetric Medicine and Infectious Diseases Physician working at Ipswich Hospital and Mater Mothers' Hospital in South Brisbane.
This conversation focuses on cytomegalovirus (CMV) in pregnancy, including why it matters, how to interpret serology, when to investigate, and how GPs can provide effective patient support to reduce transmission risks. Dr Parkes-Smith also provides insight into the mycobacterial infections service at Ipswich Hospital, including care pathways for latent tuberculosis (TB), active TB, and non-TB mycobacterial (NTM) disease.
Resources
In this episode Dr Tanusha speaks with Dr Nim Cabraal, a gynaecological oncologist and surgeon at St Andrews Ipswich Private Hospital.
Dr Cabraal has expertise in the management of gynaecological cancers and complex benign conditions, sharing insights into postmenopausal bleeding, cancer surveillance, and more.
Resources
If you missed our How to make Medicare reform work for you and your patients discussions in Toowoomba and Ipswich last week, catch up with this week's GPs in a Pod episode. Dr Jammal and Dr Meisinger (MD, MHCDS) returned to speak with Dr Tanusha, Dr Jo, and the PHN's Executive Director - Primary Care, Tim Keane.
Our expert guests cover explaining MyMedicare to your patients, shifting to proactive care, lessons from the US primary care system transformation, and so much more.
To celebrate National Carers Week, Dr Tanusha spoke with Irene Clelland, who is the CEO of Arafmi - a “small but mighty” service that provides supports to mental health carers.
They discuss Arafmi’s guide to working with carers, 24-hour support line, workshops, and respite accommodation for carers. They also speak about the warning signs for GPs around stress in carers.
Resources
Arafmi: Working with Carers, Family and Kin
24-hour Carer Support Line (1300 554 660)
In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Healthdirect Australia CEO Bettina McMahon.
They discuss Healthdirect Australia's role in the health system, My Aged Care, the importance of practices being listed in the National Health Services Directory, and the upcoming rebrand to 1800 MEDICARE, which will expand to include free, after-hours GP consultations.
Resources
In this episode, Tanusha speaks with Tracy Pickett, Legal & Policy Advisor at Avant.
They discuss Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scribes; the benefits for GPs and patients, the risks around inaccuracy, data and security, and legal considerations.
Resources
Avant: AI: what you need to know
Ahpra: Meeting your professional obligations when using Artificial Intelligence in healthcare
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: Digital scribes
Avant: AI scribes and patient consent
Avant: 3 ways AI medical scribes can benefit your practice (and how to pick the right one)
In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with OneBridge founder, Adjunct Associate Professor Sonia Martin.
OneBridge's Homelessness Health Access Program provides access to primary care, including mental health support and warm referral, through a mobile outreach model in Toowoomba and Ipswich.
Resources
In this episode, Anja Nikolic, CEO of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health, returns to the podcast to speak with Dr Tanusha.
They discuss what's happening in digital health and at the Institute, and all things AI in healthcare.
Resources
In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Cubiko CEO Chris Smeed. They discuss the Chronic Condition Management changes that came into effect from 1 July 2025.
Resources
Cubiko: Resources to prepare for Chronic Condition Management
In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Arianne Valerio, a neurologist with Metro South Health, and Michelle Stafford, formerly with Parkinson's Queensland.
More than 44,000 Queenslanders are living with Parkinson's disease - a number that continues to rise as our population ages.
They discuss diagnosis and motor symptoms, red flags, demographics and trends, referrals, management, and more.
Resources
Parkinson's Queensland: Education & Training for Health Professionals
In this episode, Dr Tanusha and Dr Jo speak with Amara Brennan and Dr Nishanth Jayarajan from the West Moreton Health Eating Disorder Speciality Service. The service provides assessment, treatment, education, and secondary consultation for patients affected by eating disorders.
Resources
In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Dr Robert Heffernan.
Dr Heffernan is a GP and practice owner in Toowoomba, GP Career Guide, and the Clinical Lead for Griffith’s LongLook Program, which sees fourth year medical students undergo placements in rural placements across the Darling Downs.
They discuss medical education and placements, student-patient relationships, and the benefits and challenges of medical student mentorship.
Resources
General Practice Supervision Australia
To end our Refugee Week series, Dr Tanusha speaks with Dr Rachel Claydon. Clinically, Dr Claydon practices as a GP at the Mater’s Asylum Seeker GP Clinic working with people seeking asylum who have lodged an application for protection visa, but don’t yet have Medicare.
Non-clinically, Dr Claydon is a GP SMO and Chair of the Queensland Clinical Advisory Group with the Refugee Health Network of Queensland, a statewide network that supports the provision of quality care to those with a refugee background.
Dr Tanusha and Dr Claydon discuss the various Mater Refugee and Multicultural Health Service clinics, the nuances of treating patients with a refugee background, trauma recovery, catch-up immunisation, and more.
Resources
Mater: Refugee and Multicultural Health
Refugee Health Network Queensland
Mater: Multicultural Health Coordination Program
Refugee Health Network Queensland: Clinical Guidelines
Refugee Health Network Queensland: Resources for Clinicians
Australian Government – Department of Home Affairs: How to make a FOI request
In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Elizabeth Laverty, who is a Refugee Health Officer with Multicultural Australia, the leading humanitarian settlement provider in Queensland.
Based in Toowoomba and Springfield, Multicultural Australia provides new arrivals with settlement services, such as housing, and access to education programs, training and employment assistance in the regions.
Toowoomba is home to the largest community of Yazidi refugees outside of Europe, with over 6,000.
Resources
Multicultural Australia – Services
Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma
In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Amale Hussein, a Refugee Health Nurse with Settlement Services International (SSI).
Based in Goodna, Amale supports referred new arrival individuals and families in the Ipswich region to navigate the healthcare system.
Amale speaks to the barriers that refugees face in healthcare, including cultural and language differences, and distrust of healthcare professionals due to prior experiences.
A refugee herself, Amale also shares her journey to becoming a Refugee Health Nurse after arriving in Australia from Somalia with her family at the age of seven in 1998.
Resources
To kick off Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, Dr Tanusha was joined by Sophia Parker, who is a Health Promotion Officer for the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program with West Moreton Health.
Sophia discusses the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, the free home test kits, the lowered eligible age for bowel screening, and more.
Resources
The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is free for people aged 45-74 years, who hold a current Medicare or DVA card. It is best suited to people who do not have any signs, symptoms, or a family history of bowel cancer. The program aims to reduce deaths from bowel cancer by detecting early signs of the disease using a faecal occult blood test (or iFOBT).
Home Test Demo kits are available, for free, from the National Bowel for GPs to show patients the contents of the kit.
In a recent study, published in the Lancet, March, 2025, the Faecal Immunochemical test-based screening program was found to be non-inferior to a colonoscopy-based program for colorectal cancer-related mortality.
Healthcare providers can now bulk order and issue bowel screening kits directly to their eligible patients through the alternative access to kits model. This is in addition to the existing mail out model.
Either the patient, or their GP on their behalf can ‘Request a free bowel test kit’ to be sent to their Medicare registered home address by completing the online form.
Key contacts
West Moreton Health and Darling Downs Health are offering lunchtime education sessions to GP practices in the region.
This includes information about the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program and a step-by-step guide on how to implement the Alternative Access to kits model to enable GPs to issue Home Test Kits directly to their patients.
Certificate of attendance will be provided if GPs want to use this to self -report CPD hours for the session.
West Moreton: WMCancerScreeningHPO@health.qld.gov.au
Darling Downs: Claire.condon@health.qld.gov.au